Between The World And Me Essay

There have been many novels written about the experience of being born black in America but only so few have been able to give the reader a vivid point of view of what African Americans have gone through for generations. The book “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates is a very sympathetic letter to his fifth teen year old son Samori. Coates explains his experiences in the past on how being born into the world as a “Black Body” is considered as a disadvantage in America. Coates grew up with strict parents that were consistently keeping a keen eye on him always having his father constantly beating him and an always anxious mother. But as he grew older and had a son of his own he then realized the reasons behind his parent’s actions.

Coates receives credibility by using his personal life that relates to other African American youth. For example, his relationship between him and his father is one that many black youth can relate too and learn from through reading Between the World and Me .

America is supposed to be the land of opportunities. A place where you are free to do anything and become whoever you want to be but this does not apply to everyone. One of the reasons for Coates disagreement is the permanent racial injustice in America. People might think that the war between black and white people is over but this is not true. Daily, we can see many cases about racial injustice like when a white man with power treats other black workers as if they were inferior to him. Not only white people treat black people this way but there are many other cases in which you can see black folks discriminate white folks and this can also be seen through public media. Coates thinks that the war between black people and white people will be a permanent one, and because of this, he is also afraid that his son needs to be more prepared for the

In the United States early history, Native Americans, Africans and Europeans were marginalized by White People, and categorized as the minorities because they were seen as the inferior race. For nearly three centuries, the criteria for membership in these groups were similar, comprising a person's appearance, their social circle (how they lived), and their known non-White ancestry. History played a major part, as persons with known slave ancestors were assumed to be African (or, in later usage, black), regardless of whether they also had European ancestry. Most often these minorities face significant discrimination in various forms whether through voting, law policy, unequal pay, or even implicit racism, minorities of all kinds have been and still are being put down today. The book Between the World and Me is a letter to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s fifteen-year-old son, Samori. He weaves his personal, historical, and intellectual development into his ruminations on how to live in a black body in America. Not only does Coates give his personal experience in how he experience in first hand discrimination, racism, marginalization but he also gives vivid images on how he lived multiple worlds and how those experiences changed him. In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”, Gloria Anzaldua exposes her feelings about social and cultural difficulties that Mexican immigrants face when being raised in the United States. She establishes comparisons among English, Spanish and their variations on how

After attending Howard University, Coates grasped a vision for his future and his family. “I wanted you to have your own life, apart from fear—even apart from me.” (Coates 1) discusses how he want his upbring to unparallel to his son’s life. He doesn’t want his son to live

Coates’ allegory of the “Dreamers” and their detrimental impact on the lives of African Americans in the US is highlighted with this declaration: “But do not pin your struggle on their conversion. The Dreamers will have to learn to struggle themselves, to understand that the field for their Dream, the stage where they have painted themselves white, is the deathbed of us all” (151). Coates is essentially claiming that the people who refuse to live in reality are subsequently robbing those who do because they instill a sense of false hope and unrealistic expectations that make every injury inflicted upon the African American community hurt even more. By extension, Coates is affirming that living in the moment rather than always thinking about the future and how to make things better is the most authentic route to happiness. Much of the misery in life derives from people in power abusing the privileges society has granted them, and the exploitation of black people in American society has solidified the idea that civilization breeds barbarism in Coates’ mind. This is further supported by Coates’ assertion that, “The enslaved were not bricks in your road, and their lives were not chapters in your redemptive history. They were people turned to fuel for the American machine” (70). This image of black lives being chewed up and spit out by industrial America is visceral and jarring in that it shows a complete failure on the civilization’s part to protect and raise its citizens to a more prominent status and improve their lives. To Coates, the ideas of patriotism and “the Dream,” or

Coates reveals that he understands the reality of black men in America. “Ethos is a rhetorical device through the author reveals his or her creditability to discuss the topic at hand.” (Kemp13). Coates shows throughout part one that he truly understand what it is like to live as a black man in America today. “ To be black in Baltimore of my youth was to be naked before the elements of the world, before all the guns, fists, knives, crack, rape, and disease.” (Coates 17). Coates displays that growing up black in Baltimore was a true challenge due to the racism, even before all the violence was added. Coates builds his credibility by giving the

In Between the World and Me , Coates immediately builds a relationship with the readers through Ethos. Through Coates novel he's seen first hand how us as a black community can care about materialistic things rather than what's really important. This is a text to world connection because in today's society, people especially the younger generation are the ones who are worried about the newest sneakers that are coming out or about the next party that's coming up rather than what's actually going on in society regarding their race or where they come from whether it affects them or not. This is a big issue because there are allot of things happening but people aren't aware of things that are happening in their own neighborhood unless it happens to someone close to them or possibly themselves. In the novel, Coates argues that “ black people” care about having the typical “American Dream” rather than fighting to be equal with the “White

This theme helps illuminate how black people came to be treated in America both when slavery existed and beyond into today’s society. The theme that black people are disposable bodies within American society. Because of the tradition of treating black people as objects or whose value strictly came from their ability to make profit, the idea of what it means to be black in America is imbedded in the danger of losing one’s body. Although slavery has ended, the racism remains as a violence inflicted on black people’s bodies. Coates is more than happy to emphasize that racism is an instinctive practice.

In Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, he writes to his son Samori about the dangers faced by black bodies regarding police intervention in the streets. Though many people, no matter what skin color, fail to recognize his concerns and respect his opinion, he has made it clear that where he stands is solid due to his personal face to face physical encounters with the law. Coates’ establishes ethos of his writing, due to his role of being a father. With this letter, he has built a firm foundation of why he must alert his son of the dangers he must be aware of because of the color of his body, but at the same time never be afraid to remember his value and right to be himself (Coates 113). With the appreciation and understanding of Coates’s

Coates describes his early forms of education in grades k-12 and the ways in which it shaped his views of the black body. This period of education was a time in which Coates viewed the black body as powerless based on the difficult situation he was living. This early educational experience in Coats’s life was extremely conflicting due to the fact that the

“My mother always talks about how white people have the “perfect” life, but then we (black people) aren’t apart of that “perfect” life, we are suppose to help labor for them so they can get the life they want without us included.” In the novel, Between The World And Me, Ta-nehisi Coates grew up in the streets of Baltimore, where the streets transform every ordinary day into a series of trick questions, and every incorrect answer risks a beatdown, a shooting, or pregnancy. This is the everyday norm of having struggles in Baltimore. But, one day Coates saw on television and media all-around how whites have wonderful and stress free lives. That is the life everyone wants, but whites are the most ones privilege to be able to achieve this goal, or dream. Coates message about the “Dream” and the “Dreamers” is that the “Dream” is an middle class suburban neighborhood, where you don’t have to worry about crime and violence, and “The Dreamers” are white people who created and believe the American dream.

A letter from a father to his son, in a time many black men are considered absent fathers, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes the truth of black America and the problems racism has caused, “Race is the child of racism, not the father” (7). Reminiscent of James Baldwin’s letter written to his 15- year-old nephew, The Fire Next Time, Coates to write his own letter giving fatherly advice in hopes his son does not become another mishandled black body. He does not hold back the truth that black men are killed by those who have sworn to protect, with little hope of justice for those who have met an untimely end.

In Between the World and Me, Coates created a very liberating and wisdom-filled experience for his readers. This knowledgeable black man made the decision to pass down his wisdom to his son, Samori, after realizing that his son was disappointed with the verdict of the Mike Brown case. The raw exposure of the realities that a black body faces in society was engulfing, especially with America’s present political climate. I can honestly say this reading piqued my interests with its message, and forced me to face the truth about our country’s blatant disregard for the black body.

Much like history books, Ta-Nehisi’s book, Between the World and Me, contains many historical facts and information that supports his ideals. However, besides the fact that it is written as a letter to his fifteen year old son, the difference is that most historic books explain a little bit of background to any historical reference for the readers to better understand the facts and information provided. For this reason, although this book reflects an extensive historical knowledge, the use of history is not as effective. Without previous exposure or further research, the references used become ineffective in conveying the desired message. His form of writing is directed to an individuals sentiments in regards to the topic of racism, thus his